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Therefore, this warning was all he was going to issue. The rest was up to the senior executives. He wasn’t going to make it his own concern. Even if he chose to intervene, it’d be after he reactivated the Great Formation.

“By the way, when is this grand competition?” asked Jiang Chen.

“In less than four months.”

Jiang Chen nodded. “Alright, I’ll go.”

The venerated forefather was overjoyed. “That’s wonderful! You’ll be able to take the top spot easily. It’s an opportunity to make a name for yourself, Jiang Chen, and it’ll be your first step in becoming a legend in Myriad Abyss. Remember not to be too arrogant or unapproachable. It’ll do you good to seize the opportunity to befriend talented cultivators from different factions.”

Elder Ziju had said the same thing.

To put it simply, there was an alliance forming, and the Eternal Sacred Land wanted to be its head. Jiang Chen’s performance was a crucial part of that. It’d be ideal if he could help the sacred land become the alliance head.

That was why the sacred land kept urging Jiang Chen to participate in the competition. At the end of the day, it too harbored ambitious about the alliance.

Jiang Chen nodded after a bemused pause. “I’ll do my best, but I hope the venerated forefather will think hard about the stones I need.”

That was his priority. He couldn’t possibly extort the stones from someone now, could he? If he could have, he would have, and he’d need the right target to boot.

The forefather pounded his chest. “Worry not, I’ll get you your ten percent of stones and the ingredients for refining the Crowning Empyrean and Taiyi Skymender Pill.”

The negotiation left the forefather in a good mood. He hadn’t expected to convince Jiang Chen with only ten percent of the stones.

He’d been worried that the young man would ask the sacred land to gather all of the stones, which was why he’d started out wailing about their poverty and refusing to give a clear answer.

This outcome was a great relief.

Once he’d left, Ziju Min excused himself as well. He could tell Jiang Chen was unhappy, so he didn’t stay to be a bother.

Only after that did the Vermilion Bird and the other divine beasts emerged from the shadows.

The bird shook its head. “Aren’t the ten sacred lands the rulers of Myriad Abyss Island? How can the forefather be so stingy? You’ve fallen for his tricks, Jiang Chen.”

“Tricks?” asked Jiang Chen.

“He appealed to your sympathy on purpose so that he could give you the least amount of reward in exchange for your cooperation. I believe the sacred land can afford to give you a lot more spirit stones. He simply doesn’t want to offer more to aid the human domain.”

As an ancient divine beast, the bird had seen it all. It was thus more insightful in many cases.

Jiang Chen laughed wryly. Upon consideration, he had to admit the bird was right. The Eternal Sacred Land had deep foundations to begin with, and they had gained quite a lot of wealth after resolving the rebellion. They couldn’t be that poor. The offworld battles took a lot to sustain, true, but more in terms of human resources. Material costs might be high as well, but not so high that the sacred land couldn’t keep its members fed.

Nevertheless, Jiang Chen didn’t have too many complaints.

The sacred land had its own set of problems. From its standpoint, it was only natural that it would be reluctant to shoulder too big a part of the spirit stones needed for the great formation.

However, Jiang Chen couldn’t help but feel bitter towards the sacred land for their manipulation. The place felt a lot less like home now. If they considered him part of the family, they wouldn’t have gone that far in manipulating him.

“We’ll focus on cultivating for now. A chaotic world is inevitable. Only strength can ensure our safety when it comes.” Jiang Chen never forgot the importance of strength.

“You’re right.” The Vermilion Bird nodded. “Strength ensures that you have a voice. The forefather is a good example. He can no longer order you around and instead has to buy your cooperation.”

There were still roughly four months until the competition arrived.

Jiang Chen planned to gather the rest of the stones before the end of the competition. After that, he’d set out for the human domain immediately and do all he could to reactivate the Great Formation.

As for House Yan, they had been putting a lot of effort into rebuilding. Jiang Chen couldn’t possibly rain on their parade. They were free to put their efforts into the wrong thing.

If the world did fall into chaos, House Yan’s reconstruction wouldn’t mean much.

The family only had a few talented members left, which wasn’t enough for them to achieve much. While Yan Qianfan was under Divine Kasyapa’s protection, the divine master wasn’t necessarily going to provide House Yan with much help.

After all, he was the one who’d destroyed House Yan. It’d be slapping his own face to help rebuild it. Besides, what if House Yan decided to take revenge against him after its rise? He’d have dug his own grave.

Given Jiang Chen’s understanding of Divine Kasyapa, he wasn’t someone who would do such a thing.

Nevertheless, Jiang Chen wasn’t interested in interrupting when the Yan family was in such high spirits. Whatever they did, it wouldn’t matter all that much.

Huang’er was observant enough to guess his thoughts. Noticing that Jiang Chen didn’t offer much opinions about House Yan’s rebuilding, she realized that he wasn’t that optimistic about it.

“Brother Chen, grandfather and the others are focusing solely on rebuilding House Yan. Do you not approve?” Huang’er asked gently. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell them.”

Jiang Chen sighed faintly. “Troubled times of chaos are upon us, Huang’er. Even the sacred land may fall. How is House Yan going to recover its peak? Survival is key in an age of conflict. One can only rebuild when the world is stable. If not, a single incident will be enough to destroy what you’ve worked for no matter how many times you’ve started over.”

Huang’er nodded thoughtfully. “You’re right, Brother Chen. I’ll try to persuade them.”

“Tell Qingsang to focus on cultivating. Let your grandfather, father, and uncle do what they’re doing. They’re in the heat of the moment. They may not listen to reason.”

Huang’er shook her head. “I have to try. You know as well how painful it is fall when you feel the most hope. The sudden change is difficult to accept.”